


Nightmares

by QuintusH4Z4RD



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Earth C (Homestuck), Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Post-Sburb/Sgrub
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2017-09-30
Packaged: 2019-01-07 07:49:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12228645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuintusH4Z4RD/pseuds/QuintusH4Z4RD
Summary: Sleeping on a human bed is unusual.Fresh starts are better than they seem at first.





	Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> Oh wow, holla at my creative description.  
> I wrote this in 40 minutes so don't expect it to be too overwhelming, I just love this ship.

Trolls were never used to sleeping on human beds. For one, lying down on one's back was unusal unless they were dead or injured and for another, the lack of calming sopor slime meant that trolls often had nightmares.

And this was certainly the case for Horuss Zahhak, who woke up in the middle of the night screaming into the dark after terrible, indescribable nightmares full of fear and torment had haunted his mind. He, like any other troll, wasn't used to waking from sleep in the dark, rather expecting himself to wake with the sun seeping through his window.

However this was not the case, and his home on Earth C, the tower he shared with the human Dirk Strider, was pitch black, and the Zahhak had to blink a few times to adjust to the dark.

Groaning tiredly, he reached for the switch of the lamp on his bedside cabinet, stopping himself just before his finger hit the button, pulling on his de-strengthening glove before hitting the switch, squinting slightly as light flooded the immediate vicinity, bathing the room in an orange glow.

He sat up, the sheets bunching around his midsection as he pulled on his other glove, rubbing his face and grumbling slightly, wishing he had a nice comforting sopor pod to sink into.

However, sopor was a nonexistent substance on this new world, and he would just have to live with it. The tall, muscular troll frowned as he reached over for his hair-tie and pulled his long, black hair into a ponytail. Since there were no means of producing sopor, he would have to make do with this horizontal plateau.

Horuss currently wore nothing but a black tank top and his usual pants, the rest of his clothes having been flung aside as he'd gone straight to sleep after a hard day of work.

Working during the daytime had, at first, been alien and even uncomfortable, but being of a higher and cooler caste meant that the sun beating down on his grey skin had grown comforting, and he even voluntarily took breaks in the sun sometimes. Dirk had been very kind to him, offering him a place to stay and allowing him to use the Strider's workshop, which had pleased him to no end.

Despite their red blood colour, Horuss had soon come to learn that Dirk was royalty. Yes - a king of the land of the consorts. So was Dirk's previous partner, Jake, though Jake was out far too often for Horuss to pay any attention to him.

Because of his royal status, Horuss had the utmost respect for Dirk, always bowing and calling him 'your royal highness', which always brought a slight snort from the Strider boy as he asked the troll to just refer to him as Dirk.

All of Horuss' thoughts were interrupted by a figure standing at the doorway. Using the limited light of the lamp, Horuss saw the glint of familiar shades.

"Your hi-- Dirk. What are you doing here at this hour? I believe these are human sleeping hours." Horuss wasn't wearing his headgear, so his confused, deep blue eyes were visible as he blinked in confusion.

"I heard you screaming." came the quiet reply. Dirk had always been soft-spoken in Horuss' opinion, and that gave this man an air of mystery. "Nightmares?"

Horuss hated to admit that someone could have predicted his problem so easily, so he paused a few seconds before nodding, looking down in shame. 

Dirk stepped forward to the foot of the bed, the light illuminating him so that his slightly tanned skin was visible, along with the large shirt and boxer briefs that he wore. 

"Want me to get in with you?" the pause that Dirk gave before asking that seemed eternal, and Horuss took another moment before nodding. Dirk lifted the covers and got in beside Horuss, lying quite still next to him as Horuss adjusted himself so he, too, was lying down.

There was a long pause before Dirk finally spoke again.

"You miss having someone to hold you at night?"

Horuss nearly gasped, a shiver running through his body as Dirk mentioned this, memories of Rufioh flooding back and drawing a strangled yelp from him as his eyes moistened. 

After coming to Earth C, Rufioh had decided he wanted a new start and broke up with Horuss out of the blue, leaving the taller troll alone and afraid in an unfamiliar world, until Dirk let him in.

"Oh shit." Dirk mumbled as he heard the mournful noise come from his companion. Hesitantly, he reached up and wiped a tear away.

"Yes."

"Say what?"

"Yes, I miss having someone next to me. I miss the comfort. And I miss the warmth of having someone lower on the hemospectrum close to me." Horuss rambled almost numbly, his emotions finally coming out after so long.

"I know how you feel, big guy." Dirk rolled over so he could fling an arm over Horuss' broad chest. "It's hard. It's hard and nobody understands."

"Absohoofely." Horuss concurred, glad that he was wearing his gloves so he could wrap an arm around Dirk's shoulder.

"Well, you got me I guess." Dirk seemed almost embarrassed. "I know I ain't as cool or awesome as Rufioh, but--"

"Please." Horuss interrupted. "I.. would rather not hear his name at the moment."

"Gotcha. Leave the past in the past." Dirk nodded, shifting closer and letting out a long sigh as he rested his head on Horuss' shoulder.

"And focus on the present." Horuss finished, feeling himself warm up with the presence of the human. Maybe Rufioh was right about new starts. 

Maybe Horuss had a new start of his own. And he certainly wasn't complaining as he fell into a dreamless, deep sleep with Dirk nestled up close.


End file.
